British comic Simon Pegg, who last year found Stateside success with his zombie film spoof Shaun of the Dead, is hitting the big time Hollywood-style.

The writer and actor is to star opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 3, the latest instalment in the big-budget, all-action franchise. According to the trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter, Pegg will play an ally of special agent Ethan Hunt, Cruise's character.

"I've been dying to work with Simon since I saw Shaun of the Dead," explained director JJ Abrams, best known for his TV spy series Alias.

"His comedic skill is remarkable: he is able to be hysterically funny while always seeming 100% real, even when he is killing zombies," he added.

Mission: Impossible 3 is currently filming in Los Angeles, with a cast that also includes Laurence Fishburne, Ving Rhames, Magnolia's Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Pegg's star does seem to be in the ascendant at the moment: the Mission: Impossible news follows word that he is to join Martin Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow in the cast of a romantic comedy directed by Gwyneth's brother Jake.